Bringing Back the Light
by Lynnlee22
Summary: This series picks up where we left off with Guiding Light. I will keep much of the show's history in tact, but I completely disregard the "One Year Later" fiasco we were given in the finale. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"It must be nice to be so young," Reva O'Neil whispered looking down at her sleeping baby boy. "There's so much pain in the world...so much loss. Lucky for him, he'll grow up and this whole year won't even be a memory."

Josh poured a generous amount of amber liquid into a glass and handed it to her. From the moment he'd opened his eyes this morning, the moments of this day had seemed to creep by. Each hour going by slower than the last. "It's been a tough day for everyone," he sighed.

She turned, staring at him. Sometimes her own sadness could be so overwhelming that she forgot other people were hurting too. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I know how much you'll miss him. This whole thing just seems like a nightmare."

"I wish it was darlin," he whispered, raising his own glass in the air. "This one's for you Billy," he managed before bringing the glass  
to his lips and downing the contents in one quick gulp.

* * *

Lizzie paced nervously around the room. She'd always been uncomfortable with silence. In the Spaulding mansion, there was always something going on. When it got too quiet, something was wrong. Today was no different, she thought to herself as she glanced over at her mother-in-law sitting on the sofa.

Vanessa carefully smoothed the fringe on the throw pillow beside her. At least she could bring some semblance of order to one thing today. Nothing else made sense anymore. Her whole life she'd spent doing the things the right way, making the right choices. After her marriage to Matt ended, she wasn't sure she'd ever find love again. When she did, with Billy Lewis of all people, she'd been afraid to risk it. She was waiting for the right moment. She spent so much time waiting that she let almost all of them pass her by.

* * *

Bill allowed the door to swing shut behind him as he stepped quietly into the room. He hadn't known quite what to expect. Reva had told him the basics, but nothing really prepared him for this.

"Who is it? Who's there?" Jonathan Randall pushed himself up in the bed, turning his head in the direction of the noise. He hadn't been expecting visitors today.

"It's Bill...Bill Lewis," Bill replied, his voice halting awkwardly as he realized he had no idea what to say next. He reached over to pull the  
small stool closer to the bed.

"Oh," Jonathan nodded, sitting silently before continuing, "I Uh...I didn't expect to see you today. I mean...I know the...the Uh..."

"Yeah...it was," Bill confirmed nodding his head out of habit. "It was today. It was good. It was nice. I wish you could have been  
there."

"Me too," Jonathan replied sadly, reaching up to touch the gauze on his face. "I would have liked to say goodbye. He gave me a chance and that meant a lot to me. I hope he knew how much I appreciated that."

"I'm sure he did. He was good at that...knowing what people really thought...even without them having to say it."

Jonathan nodded. "Good," he whispered.

"Look" Bill began slowly. There was no good way o ask this. No way that sounded less insensitive. It was a terrible question and he knew it, but Jonathan was the only person that might be able to give him the answers he needed. If a few moments of awkward, painful conversation could tell him how his father spent the last few moments of his life, it was well worth it. "I came here today because I've been thinking a lot about the accident.". He stopped looking up at Jonathan.

His face was completely covered in gauze. There was no way to gauge his reaction. Bill took a deep breath and continued. "When the explosion happened, you were with him, right?"

Now it was Jonathan's turn to take a deep breath. He'd replayed those moments in his head hundreds of times. Maybe it was because it was so traumatic, maybe it was because everything happened so fast, or maybe, he realized finally letting the air escape his lungs, it was because those images might be the last things he would ever see.


	2. Chapter 2

He wasn't sure how long it had been since Bill left. Time was another element in his life that now seemed to be a mystery. Minutes turned to hours and those hours turned to days. Lately those days were filled with strange noises, beeps from various machines, and the occasional drop in from doctors and nurses.

Jonathan lay back against the pillow, feeling the old rage begin to well up within him. He had tried to be optimistic, to stay upbeat, to appreciate all the well-wishes and happy visitors that kept stopping by, but he just couldn't. He just couldn't be anything but angry. He was angry that his first chance at a really decent job was gone, he was angry that a man he'd grown to care about and respect was dead, but most of all he was angry that his entire life had changed. His entire world had literally been blown to bits.

* * *

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Mallet asked, walking back across the floor to stand beside her. "It's not too late to change your mind."

Dinah sighed, shaking her head sadly as she took in a deep breath. "I can't. I just see where I have any other choice."

"There are other choices." Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out his phone. "You just dial the number and tell him the truth. You and I both know that's all it would take."

She sat silently for a moment. Yes, that's all it would take. All it would take to ruin his life. "Mallet...I just.." The sound of the door opening made her stop short.

"Mrs. Garrison?" the young nurse smiled, "Are we ready to get started?"

Dinah looked over at Mallet, forcing a smile and reaching for his hand. "We're ready," she whispered.

* * *

"Oh Jocelyn," she whispered, as she smiled down at her sleeping daughter. "You are gonna love Springfield. There's always something going on."

Danielle Smith smiled as she flipped the pages of the newspaper. The Lewis Oil explosion had made the front page and the coverage was impressive to say the least. Glancing down at her watch, she smiled, reaching over to smooth Jocelyn's hair as she stirred. "Don't you worry sweetie...we'll be there soon," she said.


End file.
